Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology

Studying the Fundamentals of Animal Health

Funded by a generous gift from the Davee Foundation, the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology studies the spread of disease and stress and reproductive hormone levels in zoo and wild populations, gathering valuable information to improve animal care and conservation.

About the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology

The Center for Veterinary Epidemiology was created in 2001 with a generous gift from the Davee Foundation to bridge the gap between population biology and veterinary medicine through the study of epidemiology. Further generosity enabled the center to expand in 2005 to incorporate endocrinology research, making it the Davee Center for Epidemiology and Endocrinology.

The zoo’s epidemiology research focuses on studying health in captive and wild animal populations. “Health” is defined as the dynamic balance between a host and its environment. A major role for epidemiology is the identification of factors leading to an imbalance in the relationship between host and environment.

Wildlife epidemiology seeks to understand these relationships within wildlife communities and between wildlife and other communities (ie., agricultural and human populations) at the ecosystem level. The zoo’s epidemiology research focuses on improving evidence-based decision making about the health of wild and captive populations by:

Designing and implementing rigorous surveillance programs in both captive and free-range wildlife

Developing partnerships to enhance infrastructure in the areas above (including knowledge, skills and abilities of those in a position to have the most impact) for the benefit of conservation and ecosystem health

The zoo’s endocrinology research focuses on studying the effects of hormones on animal behavior and well-being, focusing on stress and reproduction. Using fecal and urine samples for noninvasive hormone analysis, the zoo's endocrinologist collaborates with other researchers to form a fuller picture of animal health.

Zoo scientists work with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International and Zoo Atlanta to conserve Rwanda's endangered mountain gorillas by studying ties between gorilla stress levels and environmental and tourist pressures.

By measuring testosterone, estrogen and progesterone over time—the same hormones that guide reproduction in humans—endocrinologists can gain insight into animal reproductive cycles.

Science Spotlight: Rachel Santymire, Ph.D.

Science Spotlight: Rachel Santymire, Ph.D.

From black rhino hormones to snow leopard semen, amphibian skin swabs to hair-pulverizing machines, there’s no such thing as a typical day at the office for Rachel Santymire, Ph.D., director of Lincoln Park Zoo’s Davee Center for Endocrinology and Epidemiology.